AIIM ON DEMAND 2005 Booth #2053 PHILADEPHIA--May 17, 2005-- xpedx, North America's largest marketer and distributor of printing papers and graphics supplies and equipment, has deepened its support for graphics professionals.
The company's new online resource, SuiteShop, offers graphics training, color management tools, printing papers, hardware and graphics software. It is on the web at suiteshoponline.com.
SuiteShop, tailored to the specific needs of printers, designers and other graphics professionals, is designed to help them save time, produce quality print pieces and boost profitability. It results from a two-year effort by xpedx leaders to bring deeper assistance to the North American graphics community.
SuiteShop includes:
-- Online training. PrePSchool(SM) is a collection of easy-to-use online training courses in prepress and design topics including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, QuarkXPress, Microsoft Publisher, Creo Preps, Enfocus PitStop and much more. More than 40 courses for Mac and PC users are accessible for a low one-time fee. PrePSchool also provides a Learning Management System that allows companies to manage, oversee and coach their employees who take the courses.
-- Color management. All PANTONE(R) chips, books, tools and software are available to SuiteShop and xpedx customers at discount pricing.
-- Paper. SuiteShop users can purchase papers from Gmund's Treasury collection, a luxury imported specialty paper that is exclusively represented by xpedx in the U.S. Site users can also follow a link to The PaperMill Store where they can buy mill-branded premium papers and envelopes in small-count packs for immediate shipment. (By entering a favorite xpedx merchant code, a 3% savings on the order will be included.) As always, printers can get information on and access to all of xpedx's fine papers through their xpedx paper merchant.
-- PCs, Macs and graphics software. Users receive personalized consulting from an xpedx graphics equipment rep plus exclusive pricing on Apple(R) and Dell(R) computers and graphics software. The software includes QuarkXPress(R), Adobe(R) Creative Suite (including Photoshop(R), Illustrator(R), InDesign(R) and Version Cue file manager), EFI ColorProof and EFI Designer Edition.
"Printers are always looking for ways to increase quality and productivity while reducing costs," said Jeff Higgins, xpedx's Corporate Director of Marketing Services and Information who has worked closely with commercial and in-house printers for more than four decades. "xpedx provides one-on-one consultations to help improve print operations. Now, we can complement that with new online tools and services."
Higgins, the creator of SuiteShop, said it is a natural business expansion for xpedx. The company has more than 1,700 sales reps in 250 locations in U.S. and Mexico and offers a full array of prepress, on-press and post-press equipment, software and consumables. xpedx has long provided printers and designers with the largest selection of papers and customized project/specification consulting through its coast-to-coast team of merchants and more than 50 spec reps.
Commercial printer says online training for employees is effective, convenient and enhances quality assurance
SuiteShop's PrePSchool courses are up to two hours long and are presented via the Web in five to 15 minute modules. All courses are available around the clock throughout the 12-month contract period for less than $300 per seat annually--purchased exclusively from xpedx at suiteshoponline.com. Multiple seat discounts for print shops, design agencies and colleges/universities are available.
"The PrePSchool prepress training helps my employees learn today's preferred prepress practices step-by-step, giving them a big-picture view of the process," said George Zorgo, owner and president of Pittston, Pennsylvania-based Zorgo Printing Service. "Having that broader understanding has helped our employee confidence, productivity and has decreased the number of on-press surprises."
"Printers need to stay on top of quickly-changing and important prepress software programs," Zorgo explained, "but they no longer need to take expensive, unreliable and time-intensive off-site courses. xpedx and the folks at PrePSchool really understand the printing industry and their courses reflect that."
PrePSchool's Learning Management Tool allows print shop management to assign and review training, view test scores, set passing score standards, access usage reports, generate reminders and more. "Tracking employee training usage and its effectiveness is a great benefit to the print shop's bottom line and its quality assurance," said Zorgo. "It's a nice coaching and mentoring tool as well."
Other SuiteShop offerings detailed
xpedx is the exclusive U.S. paper merchant supplier of PANTONE, the respected provider of color systems and global authority on color. All PANTONE products are sold at suiteshoponline.
Hardware and graphics software systems are now available to designers via SuiteShop. Preconfigured or customized systems are shipped directly to the printer's door. Before delivery, all hardware and software is tested at xpedx's National Technology Center, which also provides technical support. xpedx offers low-cost financing for equipment and software.
SuiteShop will continue to be updated and expanded in 2005. For more information visit www.suiteshoponline.com or contact your local xpedx sales or specification representative. SuiteShop is also accessible via www.xpedx.com.
Loveland, Ohio-based xpedx is North America's largest marketer and distributor of printing papers and graphics supplies and equipment. It is also a leading distributor of packaging and facility supplies and equipment.
In addition to delivering the world's largest offering of printing papers from a single source, xpedx provides graphics professionals with advanced digital prepress equipment, Ryobi printing presses, hardware and graphics software, color management tools, finishing, bindery and packaging systems. It offers detailed analysis and counsel to help make a customer's printing operations more efficient and profitable. xpedx is an International Paper company.
For more information, visit xpedx representatives at booth #2053 during the On Demand Expo 2005 in Philadelphia, visit www.xpedx.com or contact your local xpedx office.